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Lewis County Hospital Receives $4.6 Million
in CARES Act Funding to Help Offset COVID-19 Losses

May 08, 2020   06:15 p.m.
    Lowville, NY- Lewis County General Hospital has received $4.6 million to help
    make up for operational losses directly related to the COVID-19 crisis for March
    and April.

    Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (NY-21) announced an estimated $63 million in
    HHS rural hospital funding from the CARES Act has gone to North Country rural
    hospitals in a press release on Thursday. Recipients of the $63 million rural
    distribution included rural acute care general hospitals and Critical Access
    Hospitals (CAHs), Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), and Community Health Centers
    located in rural areas. Lewis County General Hospital received $4,592,000.

    "On behalf of the Board of Managers and the entire Lewis County Health System
    community, I want to express my sincere appreciation and thanks to
    Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, Senator Kristen Gillibrand, and Senator Charles
    Schumer, for working very hard on our behalf in accessing rural hospital funds
    from the CARES Act for Lewis County General Hospital," Gerald R. Cayer, Chief
    Executive Officer of Lewis County Health System, said in a statement. "This
    funding for our local hospital is desperately needed during this unique period of
    time."

    “This round of funding for our North Country rural hospitals is desperately
    needed during this financially challenging time,” said Congresswoman Stefanik.
    “I worked hard to ensure funding was included in the CARES Act for rural
    hospitals in underserved regions, and I will continue to work with the Department
    of Health and Human Services to ensure each North Country hospital is provided
    with adequate funding to make up for the loss of revenues experienced as a
    result of the COVID-19 crisis.”

    "It will be between twelve to eighteen months before organizations such as LCGH
    fully recover from this pandemic.  This rural hospital funding is most certainly a
    step in the right direction to ensure on-going access to primary care and acute
    health services," Mr. Cayer said in the statement.

    The hospital previously received $1.5 million in the Families First Coronavirus
    Response Act passed and signed into law in on March 18.

    Lewis County General Hospital saw a $1.9 million operating loss in March, with
    that amount estimated to be $2 million to $2.5 million for April. A large loss of
    revenue was a direct result of an executive order issued on March 23 putting a
    stop to elective surgeries and procedures across the state. The hospital was
    recently given the green light to start resuming those procedures, with the first
    surgeries taking place yesterday.